Tuesday, August 2, 2011

The Critics on "La Cenerentola"

Chuck Lavazzi of KDHX and Operatic Saint Louis, Harrison Kaplan of BroadwayWorld.com and Sarah Bryan Miller of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch have seen Union Avenue Opera's La Cenerentola. Here's a sampling of what they had to say (to read full reviews, click on the reviewer's name):

Chuck Lavazzi:
"[Abigail] Fischer’s performance is pure brilliance — as is that of everyone else in this remarkable cast ... Bass Adam Fry gives us a delightfully pompous and brilliantly sung Don Magnifico, while bass Kenneth Mattice is all wry amusement as Dandini. Their second-act duet is a classic combination of physical and vocal comedy ... Baritone E. Scott Levin has less interesting material to work with as Alidoro...but he makes the most of it. It’s a fine performance, sung with complete conviction ... [Kara Cornell and Gina Galati] get the characters’ comic bitchiness just right ... Principal Director Jolly Stewart creates decent stage pictures and — unlike so many directors of comic opera — understands that her performers don’t need to be in constant motion to be interesting ... Union Avenue Opera has produced another winner in La Cenerentola."
Harrison Kaplan:
"Both [Abigail Fischer and Keith Boyer] prove capable of handling the demands of Rossini’s score which weaves vocal parts in and out and together in sometimes confusing, but ear-pleasing fashion ... Kenneth Mattice plays the part of Dandini...with a broadness that appeals ... Adam Fry is also over the top as Don Magnifico, with his rich bass voice punctuating a number of hilarious punchlines ... Elizabeth Hastings conducts the orchestral ensemble with considerable aplomb, making excellent work of Rossini’s bouncy and exhilarating score ... Union Avenue Opera's production of La Cenerentola (Cinderella) is an enchanting and mirth-filled production sure to please audiences."
Sarah Bryan Miller:
"Abigail Fischer made an appealing heroine. She's a real coloratura mezzo, with an attractively dark sound and a good technique. To go with it, she has a pre-Raphaelite abundance of red-gold curls, a pretty face, slender figure and likeable persona ... [Keith] Boyer has a big, ringing tenor that negotiated Rossini's demanding lines easily ... [S]oprano Gina Galati and mezzo Kara Cornell were nicely differentiated in their characters, and very funny ... Kenneth Mattice's Dandini, prince for a day, looked good and played the part of the impostor well ... Anthony Heinemann, Nathan Ruggles and Joshua J. Stanton sang well and earned plenty of laughs."
La Cenerentola continues its run this weekend on Saturday, August 6 at 8pm and Sunday, August 7 at 3pm (matinée). Production sung in Italian with projected English supertitles. Venue: Union Avenue Christian Church; 733 N. Union Blvd, St. Louis, 63108.

Tickets range $30-52. Childrens General Admission Tickets (ages 12 and under) are available for $15. Student Rush Tickets are $15 with valid Student ID (cash only) for any remaining seats available 15 minutes before curtain. To purchase Tickets or find more information about Union Avenue Opera, please call 314.361.2881 or visit http://www.unionavenueopera.org/

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